Space at the Olympics is Limited

Beijing 2008

The number of participating nations is yet to be determined, depending on each sport's qualifying processes. There are 28 sports at the Games and 302 events.

The expected number of participating athletes is 10,708 for the Olympics and 4,000 for the Paralympic Games.

Accredited media and press is estimated at 21,600.

About 70,000 Games-time volunteers will be needed for the Olympic Games and 30,000 for the Paralympic Games.

Triathlon

In triathlon, 110 athletes will be allowed a spot on the Beijing start line—55 women on August 18 and 55 men on August 19. Of those 55 athletes per gender, a maximum of eight countries are allowed to have three athletes participating. All other countries are allowed a maximum of two athletes per gender.

It is possible for a country to have one female and three males or vice versa. The countries that will be allowed to take three athletes per gender are determined by:

"The maximum of three (3) places will be allocated to the first eight (8) National Olympic Committees (nations) to have three (3) athletes eligible through the Continental Olympic Qualifying Events, the World Championships and then the Olympic Qualification Ranking (in that order)."

The U.S.A. secured one male and one female slot for the country, thanks to Julie Ertel and Andy Potts garnering gold medals at the Pan American Games, our Continental Olympic Qualifying event. Julie and Andy are not, however, guaranteed a spot on the USA Triathlon Olympic Team.

Coming Soon: The Road to Glory

In the next column I will cover how an athlete from the U.S.A. gets to the start line for the Olympic Games. It is a long process and as you would expect, it's not an easy one. To hold the crown of "Olympic Champion" is an honor that should not be easily attainable.

Gale Bernhardt was the 2003 USA Triathlon Pan American Games and 2004 USA Triathlon Olympic coach for both the men's and women's teams. Her first Olympic experience was as a personal cycling coach at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Thousands of athletes have had successful training and racing experiences using Gale's pre-built, easy-to-follow training plans. For more information, click here. Let Gale and Active Trainer help you succeed.

Within 2 Miles

Activities near you will have this indicator!

Within 2 Miles

ACTIVE.com is the leader in online event registrations from 5k running races and marathons to softball leagues and local events. ACTIVE also makes it easy to learn and prepare for all the things you love to do with expert resources, training plans and fitness calculators.

Frequently Asked Questions

ACTIVE Advantage is the premium membership program of ACTIVE, designed to support and encourage your active lifestyle by providing exclusive discounts on thousands of activities on ACTIVE. No matter what your passions are, it is our mission to make it cheaper and easier for you to pursue the activities you love.

The 30-day trial of the ACTIVE Advantage membership allows you to check out the program for yourself before starting a full annual membership. During this trial period you have full access to member benefits, including all ACTIVE registration discounts, access to free event entries, gear discounts and more. If you decide during the trial period that you don't want to continue the membership, just let us know. Otherwise, at the end of your 30 day trial we will extend your member benefits for a full year at the current annual membership fee.

If you sign up for the 30-day ACTIVE Advantage trial membership you'll receive full access to all member benefits during your trial period. When the 30 days of the trial are up, your benefits will automatically upgrade to the annual membership which currently costs $64.95 per year. That's less than $6 per month to enjoy the program all year round.

Members can receive discounts when registering for events on ACTIVE.com.

Simply follow the steps below to redeem your discount

Step 1: Find an event on ACTIVE and login. Use the ACTIVE directory to find an event. Click the login button in the upper right corner of the event details page. You will be re-directed to a login screen. After logging in, you will be sent back to the event details page.

Step 2: Click the "Register Now" button to sign up for the event. Complete all required registration fields and proceed to payment screen. When logged in as an Advantage member, your discount will automatically apply at the end of registration.

Step 3: Submit registration and receive discount. The discount amount will display in your shopping cart and will be deducted from your registration fees. The registration discount will vary and is excluded from some events. If the discount does not appear in your shopping cart, the event is not eligible.